Non-Corporeal
Non-Corporeal is one of the many Unit Abilities available in Master of Magic. The Non-Corporeal ability gives a unit several advantages - but it is also one of the few abilities that also gives a disadvantage. For starters, on the overland map, a or unit with Non-Corporeal can travel across both land and water tiles, and will always pay exactly 0.5 Movement Points to enter any tile, regardless of its Terrain. This allows Non-Corporeal units to act as fantastic scouts, particularly when they have a high Movement Allowance. During combat, Non-Corporeal units can move through City Walls unimpeded. All Non-Corporeal units are also completely immune to several spells - particularly those which hinder movement or target the tile underneath the unit. On the downside, Non-Corporeal denies the unit any benefits from traveling along an Enchanted Road. Thus, such units cannot move as rapidly across the land during the later stages of the game (esp. on Myrror). Exactly 6 units in the game are Non-Corporeal by default. All six are Fantastic Units. It is possible to make any unit Non-Corporeal by casting the Wraith Form Unit Enchantment on it. Furthermore, Heroes may be equipped with Magical Items possessing a Wraith Form Item Power. Description In the world of Master of Magic, a creature does not require a true physical form in order to exist. Some creatures have the ability to exist in a partially ghost-like form, which does not interact with physical obstacles or indeed with the ground itself. Such units, called "Non-Corporeal" ("without body") can perform things that would seem otherwise impossible, such as passing through sheer walls or gliding straight over a chasm as though it was land. Effect The Non-Corporeal ability confers two important advantages to a unit possessing it: the ability to move freely and quickly through obstacles and any type of terrain, and the ability to shrug off effects that would slow it down. On the other hand, a Non-Corporeal unit is also unable to utilize the benefits of Enchanted Roads. Freedom of Movement A or Non-Corporeal unit enjoys two benefits related to freedom (and speed) of movement. On the overland map, such a Non-Corporeal unit can move across both land and water tiles. It essentially possesses both a ability and a ability at the same time. While the unit's Movement Allowance remains unchanged, it is no longer restricted to using either water or land. Furthermore, entering any type of Terrain on the overland map costs the Non-Corporeal unit only 0.5 Movement Points. This allows the unit to essentially move a number of tiles equal to twice its Movement Allowance, each turn. Increasing a Non-Corporeal unit's Movement Allowance, therefore, can allow it to travel vast distances very quickly. The effect is identical to that of a "regular" unit traveling down a long Road, except the Non-Corporeal unit does not need an existing road, and can even travel this fast across Oceans! Some freedom of movement also applies during combat, since the Non-Corporeal unit is unhindered by City Walls. It can pass through them just like a unit would. Note that this applies only to City Walls: the unit will still suffer if it tries to pass through a Wall of Fire, due to the magical nature of such a wall. Exceptions :Note that Non-Corporeal units do not enjoy either of the above benefits, since the ability overrides the Non-Corporeal ability in this regard. :For starters, Non-Corporeal units must pay 1 Movement Point per tile when moving on the overland map, as all units do. :Furthermore, since units already ignore most battlefield obstacles (i.e. City Walls), the same capability given by the Non-Corporeal ability is redundant. :This is somewhat of a disadvantage, but it's not without compensation: as explained below, Non-Corporeal units may utilize Roads, balancing things out a little. :Nonetheless, it means that Non-Corporeal units do not make ultra-fast scouts. Immunity to Certain Spells The Non-Corporeal ability also confers total immunity to several types of spells that either hinder movement or cause damage to the terrain underneath the unit. * The Web spell or Web Spell Ability cannot be targeted at any Non-Corporeal unit. The game will throw a red error box if this is attempted, and request a different target. * The Cracks Call spell will do nothing when targeted at a Non-Corporeal unit (wasting its entire Casting Cost). * The Entangle spell will not slow down any Non-Corporeal unit on the battlefield. * The overland spells Earthquake and Nature's Wrath will cause no damage to Non-Corporeal units whatsoever. Strangely, the mud created by an Earth to Mud spell does in fact slow down Non-Corporeal units as it would any other unit. This contradicts the idea behind Non-Corporeality, and is assumed to be an oversight by the game's developers. No Use of Enchanted Roads Unfortunately, Non-Corporeality comes with a price, which may seem unimportant at first but can become very important during the late game, especially for empires located primarily on Myrror. Non-Corporeal units do not enjoy the benefits of an Enchanted Road. When entering a tile containing such a road, they pay the same they would for entering any other tile, completely disregarding the Enchanted Road. Work-Arounds :Fortunately, the limitation can be circumvented entirely by grouping a Corporeal unit with the Non-Corporeal creature. The corporeal unit's overland movement restrictions are considered by the game to be tighter than those of its companion. They will, as a result, override the Non-Corporeal property, and the group can travel the enchanted road at unlimited speed. :Furthermore, as mentioned above, the ability to overrides Non-Corporeality with regards to movement costs and restrictions. While this means that Non-Corporeal units do not move as fast as or units, it does mean that they can use Roads as normal. :Thus, if a unit has both and Non-Corporeal, it can still enjoy speed benefits from Roads, but will not be sped up on other types of terrain like other Non-Corporeal units would be. Units with Default Non-Corporeal There are 6 different units in the game that possess Non-Corporeal by default. All 6 are Fantastic Units: Guardian Spirit Magic Spirit Phantom Warriors Phantom Beast Shadow Demons Wraiths Acquiring Non-Corporeal The Non-Corporeal ability can be added artificially to a unit by one of two means: * Casting the Wraith Form Unit Enchantment on the unit. * Imbuing a Magical Item with the "Wraithform" Item Power, and equipping it on a Hero. Both methods give the unit the same Non-Corporeal ability described above in this article - except for the fact that it is not permanent. Wraith Form Unit Enchantment Wraith Form is a Rare Unit Enchantment from the realm. When cast on any unit, it will add the Non-Corporeal ability to that unit. The ability remains while the spell is in effect, and behaves exactly as described in this article. When cast on the overland map, Wraith Form has a basic Casting Cost of . It has a lingering effect, so that the targeted unit will keep its Non-Corporeal ability so long as the spell continues to exist. While it exists, the spell requires an Upkeep Cost of to be paid at the start of each turn. Alternatively, it is possible to cast Wraith Form during combat as an impromptu Unit Enchantment. In this case the spell's basic Casting Cost is only , but its effects will only last until the end of the battle (or until dispelled by the enemy). Since neither the spell nor the effect will carry over to the overland map, there is no associated Upkeep Cost with this version of the spell. Note that while enchanted by Wraith Form, a unit's details panel will show the Non-Corporeal icon with a purple background and the label "Wraithform". Despite the label, this is functionally identical to the Non-Corporeal ability. Wraithform Item Power A permanent version of the Wraith Form spell can be imbued into any Shield, Chainmail, Platemail or Jewelry piece. When a Hero wears this item, he/she receives the Non-Corporeal ability. During Item Crafting, it is only possible to select the "Wraithform" bonus if you possess at least Spellbooks. Otherwise, "Wraithform" is not available. Of course, it is always possible to find an item already enchanted with "Wraithform" as reward for defeating an Encounter. The Non-Corporeal ability bestowed by an item is transient: it will disappear if the Hero ever removes or loses the enchanted item. Category:Abilities Category:Unit Movement